I don’t know what I expected when I started The Vanished Birds, but I can tell you that it blew any expectations I did have completely out of the water. This book is beautiful. It’s haunting and poignant. This story is filled with scenes that will make your imagination sing, and your eyes tear up. This is the kind of Science Fiction that I missed so very much.

It all begins on a world that is on the fringes of occupied space. One that is spared the colonization of other worlds, and is saturated with tradition. Jimenez makes it obvious early on that this will be a story about how civilization changes over time. How, despite what we cling to, the world is continuously evolving around us. A story about how one tiny thing, in this case a boy who falls out of the sky, can set in motion things that will change everything.

What is so fascinating about this story is that it also bring so the table so many questions about human kind. What depths will we go to in order to further a cause? Are people expendable, if it means progress? When does greed get to a point where it is no longer sustainable? As Nia and her crew navigate the stars, learning more about the mysterious boy who fell into their life as they travel, the story even questions what makes up a family. I can’t express enough how deep this story is, and how wonderful it was to sink into.

This story is not going to be for everyone, I know. It’s the kind of Science Fiction that is a gorgeous, slow burn. It takes a while to understand the characters, and how they interact with one another. You must be patient as the universe expands, and the terrible/wonderful things that come along with that unfold. If you are patient, you’ll be well rewarded. This book too my breath away and I can scarcely believe that it’s a debut.